Strawberry Cheesecake Donuts

I have a really bizarre mix of things to talk to you about today. They truly don’t belong in the same post at all… beach vacations and donuts. See? Totally polar opposites, but I’m going there.

This year is our 10 year anniversary… crazy and we’re hoping to go away for some us time. We got super scientific (or mathematic?) tonight, creating one of those pen and string compasses to create our travel zone, which unfortunately ruled out all of Europe unless I’m willing to spend a little longer on a plane. Trust me, it’s high on my list for places to visit, I’m just not sure if this trip will be the time for that but I will get there eventually.

I started to poke around at possible locations in the Caribbean, because being on the East coast that’s much easier to get to and in a much shorter time than say… Hawaii which is also on my list of someday maybes. What kills me is the layovers. Some of them had 3-4 hours between flights. I’m not sure I could handle that. I’m one for quick stops or no stops at all.

Of course what I really want to know from you is… what are your absolute favorite locations in the Caribbean? And I’ll even extend that out to Belize because that’s in there as an option. I need to do some major research. Help! Give me your input. Our honeymoon was in Aruba so that’s definitely on our list of considerations.

I imagine donuts will basically become non-existent in the coming months so I can comfortably lounge on a beach in 8 months time… so we’re going to go ahead and indulge this week in some super sinful and totally amazing fried donuts. I realize many of you may have kicked off New Year’s diets, so save the delicious recipes coming your way this week for down the road because you absolutely will want to indulge in these… if not now, soon.

When I agreed to take part in a week long celebration of donuts, I knew at least one of them had to be stuffed with something… whether it be cream, jelly or something else. It was just plain necessary. In the end, I dreamed up an over the top cheesecake donut. A soft pillow-y donut, filled with sweet strawberries and cream cheese, finished off with a coating of sweetened graham cracker crumbs. The ultimate cheesecake donut.

Stay tuned for even more donuts later in the week! You don’t want to miss these…

Directions:

Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer add flour, salt, remaining sugar, shortening and egg. With mixer running on low, slowly add proofed yeast mixture. Mix, increasing speed as needed, until dough pulls together. Dough may be sticky. Lightly grease your hands and a large bowl with baking spray. Shape dough into a ball and transfer to prepared bowl. Cover and allow to rise in a warm location until doubled in size or roughly 45 minutes.

In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, combine strawberries with lemon juice and sugar. Cook until strawberries are softened, 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

In a small bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. When strawberry mixture has cooled to room temperature, combine with cream cheese.

Prepare a baking sheet with a lightly greased piece of parchment paper. Prepare a cooling rack with a sheet of parchment paper. Add topping ingredients to a small bowl, set aside.

Roll out dough on a lightly floured workspace to between 1/4 and 1/2-inch. Cut out circles with a large round cookie or biscuit cutter. Add a small spoonful of strawberry filling to one circle of dough, then top off with an additional circle of dough. Using a slightly smaller round cookie or biscuit cutter, press down to cut and reseal the edges. Transfer to prepared pan. Repeat process with remaining dough.

Heat 2-inches vegetable oil in a large stockpot to 325°F (use a thermometer for accuracy). Fry 2-3 donuts at a time for 3 minutes, flipping halfway through or until deep golden in color. Immediately coat in graham cracker crumbs. The heat and moisture from the donut will help them to stick. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet to cool completely. Repeat process with remaining donuts.

1) Cozumel is AMAZING! Go there. It rocks.
Me and the hubs are coming up on our 1 year anniversary next month (ya, you beat us!) and are thinking of doing a cruise trough Barbados. That would be nice too!
2) I can’t speak. Donuts. With strawberry cheesecake filling. AND GRAHAM CRACKERS?
This is potentially everything I will ever need to eat in life every again.
Pinned!

Rachel — January 13th, 2014 @ 3:57 pm

Cruises scare the bejeezus out of me. I wanted to go on one once upon a time, but it’s definitely not high on my list of things to do these days lol.

Ok, first of all I love a whole week of donuts. Homemade donuts are actually on my list of to makes this week! Second…we went to St. Maarten a few years ago and absolutely loved it! It was by far the best place we went. Very relaxed and fun! We rented a car and spent the days just driving to new beaches each day. Seriously the best…we are hoping to go back again soon!.

Yay for vacations! We’re headed to Cozumel, Belize, Hondoras, and Playa Maya (I aplogize if I’m spelling these incorrectly) this weekend. I’ll let you know how it goes. I’m totally drooling over these donuts. I want them so bad!

I LOVE cheesecake stuffed donuts. When my boss got married she had a donut “cake” instead of a traditional cake and they had an amazing cheesecake stuffed donut as well. I also love how you stuffed it before frying…I wouldn’t have thought of that! Now about this anniversary trip. I know Hawaii is far but there is a straight flight (12hrs.) from Newark, NJ. Although I’m assuming that is a bit of a haul from NH. I have always been a fan of cruises as well. You get to travel to lots of places with zero limit on baggage and no flying :)

Rachel — January 16th, 2014 @ 8:55 am

That’s seriously such a fun wedding cake and very non-traditional ;) Yeah Hawaii is probably a no go this time but I still would love to go someday.

We have been to St. Maarten and St. Lucia and love them both! St. Maarten has Dutch culture on one side and French on the other, with completely gorgeous beaches. The mountains on St. Lucia are stunning, but they’ve also got the beaches. You can’t go wrong with Aruba, though :)

Rachel — January 22nd, 2014 @ 5:46 pm

I think Aruba still tops the list simply because we’re familiar with it BUT change would be nice. Thanks for the recommendations :)